The Five Red Herrings

by Dorothy L. Sayers

Book Overview

The body was on the pointed rocks alongside the stream. The artist might have fallen from the cliff where he was painting, but there are too many suspicious elements -- particularly the medical evidence that proves he'd been dead nearly half a day, though eyewitnesses had seen him alive a scant hour earlier. And then there are the six prime suspects -- all of them artists, all of whom wished him dead. Five are red herrings, but one has created a masterpiece...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060808306
• ISBN13: 9780060808303
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.1" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Unacceptable Condition

I haven’t started reading the book yet but the condition was deplorable. The cover just fell off the minute I picked it up it was musty and not worth almost $7 with shipping. Definitely something you would pick up at a garage sale for .25 cents.

Classic British Mysteries

Fun to read, awesome vocabulary..be entertained and gently reminded of the learning we Americans did not get in Vocabulary class.

Sayers Almost at Her Best

I must be in the minority because I thought this was Sayer's almost at her most brilliant. Only the Nine Tailors seems better to me. Unlike some other reviewers here it was the complexity of the plot that I found so intriguing-that and the Scottish setting. No one could handle intricate plotting better than Sayers. I have also heard this book on tape read by Patrick Malahide. He does a fabulous job and the tapes are particularly mesmerizing. If you enjoy mysterys for their characters start with Murder must Advertise. If you read mysterys for their plot this is definitly the place to go.

Dorothy Sayers Gets Hooked on Phonics

As other reviewers have commented, this book has two strikes against it. First, Sayers transcribes most of the dialogue preserving the native Scottish accents of her characters. Occasionally she'll allow a character to have so thick a brogue that she'll simultaneously translate for the reader. However, it frequently takes several times through a conversation to make sure you're reading it properly. A glossary at the end of the book would have helped immensely (everybody say Imph'm). The other strike against the book is that five red herrings is a couple kippers too many. Combined with the dialectic nature of the book, there are simply too many people (suspects, police, railroad employees, servants, etc.) to keep track of at the same time.Fortunately, Sayers doesn't get the fatal third strike. She weaves a complex web and sets master sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey in the middle of it. The obvious wit in her other novels is obscured somewhat by the accents, but enough shines through to keep the overall tone light. Bunter disappears about halfway through, but while he's on the scene he's as wonderful as ever. Tracking Farren and Wimsey's re-creation of the murderer's alibi were, for me, the high points of the story.I'm sure Dorothy Sayers knew the risks she was taking in crafting such a detailed, complex mystery. That it doesn't entirely work for an American reader in the 21st Century probably isn't ruining her afterlife much. I've found myself hopelessly outclassed on several occasions when reading the Wimsey series, and under those circumstances I find it most helpful to get in Wimsey's Daimler with him and go along for the ride. The trip is always breathtaking (as most of Wimsey's passengers can attest), and while Lord Peter may know where he's going sooner than I do, he doesn't get there too far ahead of me. Don't let my criticisms of this book dissuade you from giving it a read; it's tough in parts, but well worth the effort.

Authentic in Scotland and Arctic Alaska

This was the first Dorothy Sayers story I saw on television in the original series aired on Public TV. And it is one of her best.Like all of her mysteries, it gives the reader an in-depth view of a fascinating time and place --this time Scotland. I loved all the little details, including full portraits of bicycles used by the local folks. Also use of the Scottish language and accents. They were a bit difficult to follow the first time, but I tried again. As a resident of an Inupiat Eskimo community in the Alaskan Arctic, I know the value of local language as a very basic means of communication and an expression of cultural identity.The book carefully weaves in a basic course in painting, and makes it a factor in description and possible solution of the murder. (I'll say no more)So if you can't get to Arctic Alaska, or Scotland, in the near future, or take an extensive art course, buy this book. Read it at your leisure and enjoy!

A More Complex Sayers

This is not the place to start reading the Lord Wimsey books--it is clear that Dorothy Sayers was trying a more complex plot with The Five Red Herrings. Read the books in order and you will better appreciate this effort. It should be remembered that Sayers was not a simple little mystery writer--she was a complex, multi-talented writer who would be expected to stretch the genre.